


Mistletoe

by atrt7900



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fluff, I legit can't believe I've done this, Pining, im so starved that im writing content what is this, it's ok me too, kirito is also a mess, oh look now there's more, why did i write eugeo's pov too i have responsibilties lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-01-15 14:52:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18501250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atrt7900/pseuds/atrt7900
Summary: Three times where Kirito fails to nab a kiss, and the one time he succeeds.In which Kirito reunites with a childhood friend and finds himself smitten. And it's also Christmas.





	1. In which Kirito is having a crisis

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t believe I’ve done this.
> 
> I’ll be frank, I’m not even that much of an SAO fan, and I still find many faults with this series. But I’ll be damned if I’ll say I didn’t fall in love with Alicization. Of course there’s still quite a few things that I have issues with, but I still find a lot of enjoyment out of it (and totally not because of best boy, of course not)
> 
> So it’s come to this, and I’ve actually written a fic. Not sure how well I did with characterizations since I'm still pretty unfamiliar with this series, but eh, whatever haha 
> 
> Prompt: http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/181571860213/imagine-person-a-of-your-otp-buying-some

* * *

 

It’s Christmas, and Kirito is having a crisis. And the only person he can blame for that right now, is Asuna.

Alright, _technically_ it wasn’t her fault. But he’ll still blame her. For his own security.

It all starts with a reunion.

Nothing much happens at Aincrad Academy. It’s a relatively normal school, and whatever rumors that circulate about its students and faculty are simply just that, rumors. Besides its curriculum and its prestige as one of the best high schools in the prefecture, as well as its ridiculous entrance exam, Aincrad Academy is probably just that, a typical school.

So when there are rumors that there isn’t just one, but _two_ new transfer students enrolling in the middle of the school year, it certainly does catch everyone’s attention.

“What do you think they’ll be like?” Klein asks one day, leaning against Kirito’s own desk. His blazer is undone and his tie is messily thrown together. It’s too early in the morning to even bother with this, and Kirito fights to urge to slam his face back down onto his desk to take a quick nap. At least, until homeroom ends and class finally begins within the next few minutes.

The girl next to Kirito, Asuna, frowns. “You too?” She’s probably one of Kirito’s, if not, his closest friend, and though there are rumors in the school about whether they’re together or not, they both somehow take it in stride. Besides, it’s not that he can’t admire how pretty she is, but he just isn’t interested in romance in general.

Klein shrugs. “I mean, you gotta have _mad_ credentials if you wanna get into this school, especially if you transfer. You can’t blame us for wondering.” He then obnoxiously waggles his eyebrows in an exaggerated way, but Kirito thinks it just looks ridiculous. “I hope one of them is a girl.”

Asuna rolls her eyes fondly, but Kirito forces back a groan. “Does it really matter?” he mumbles into his arms, lifting his head up a smidge.

“Aww, lighten man, I’m just teasing,” Klein laughs.

It isn’t until right after that that the teacher enters the classroom, and Klein scrambles back to his seat at the other side. On the other hand, Kirito tries to hide a yawn from the teacher.

Kirito slowly straightens up his back as Asuna turns to face the front from her own seat. As the student representative of their class, she tells everyone to rise up and bow to the teacher. Polite pleasantries are exchanged and as everyone sits back down in their seats, Kirito notes that the teacher is glancing at the door. She’s probably signalling at someone to get their position ready.

“As you may know,” the teacher begins. “We have two new transfer students in our school today. One of these students will be in this classroom with us, but I expect you to treat them both with utmost respect, understood?”

“Yes, sensei…” everyone echoes. It’s pretty much common sense as of this point, and Kirito briefly wonders if he can sneak in a few more minutes of sleep while the teacher introduces the new student.

“Good. You may enter now,” the teacher says. Kirito buries his head back down into his arms and closes his eyes.

The next thing he hears is the sound of footsteps and some giggles, almost as if this new student was a new animal that the rest of the students will gawk at. Perhaps the new student is shy, or maybe they actually have a confident smile on, judging from the comfortable atmosphere. Still, it’s not like Kirito really cares.

“Alright, now introduce yourself,” the teacher finishes. There’s a brief moment of silence, and the new student is probably gathering their thoughts. Maybe this student really _is_ shy.

“Um…” the student says. Judging from their voice, the new student is a guy. That might’ve dashed Klein’s hopes. He hears some movement, and the student is probably shuffling his feet, but a voice in the back of Kirito’s head is screaming at him to just lift his head up.

There’s another silence, and Kirito can just _imagine_ an awkward smile on this student’s face, and then the student finally speaks again.

“Hi… I’m Eugeo. N-nice to meet you!”

Huh, not bad for an intro. A bit of stuttering here and there, but Kirito can’t really blame the guy. It’s not like Kirito would’ve been able to do any better really. It’s probably nerve wracking to introduce yourself like that in front of a bunch of other strangers and—

Wait. Wait a minute.

With a push from his desk, Kirito backs up and lifts his head. His chair screeches against the floor and it pierces the classroom. His notebook falls off his desk in his haste as well, but that wasn’t important. His head spins briefly from the blood circulating from his previous downed positioned, but he can’t bring himself to care either.

In the front was another boy, the same age as him. A boy with soft-looking flaxen hair that curls up in the ends and cream colored skin. But what Kirito notices the most is his sea-green eyes.

Kirito knows it’s been years but it’s unmistakable. It’s got to be him. There’s no other way.

“Eugeo!?”

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Eugeo to join their little group of friends.

Much to Kirito’s pleasant surprise, the other transfer student is Alice, his other childhood friend. There’s not a lot that Kirito can remember from his childhood days in Rulid, but he knows he remembers those days fondly, and Asuna comments that he’s strangely ecstatic to be reunited with them again.

He can tell she doesn’t judge him though, as he has mentioned both Eugeo and Alice in passing to her. When he first moved away during middle school, Asuna had been one of his first friends, and it wasn’t unusual for him to miss his old childhood friends. There was no way to contact either of them either, as they’d lost each others phone numbers and he lost their addresses for the letters he would send. It didn’t help that his mother lost their parents’ contact information too, which separated them even further. Eventually Kirito once again grew out of his shell, but it didn’t mean he missed them any less.

So he knows Asuna is just teasing, and she does her best to integrate his two friends in their friend group. Though to be frank, Kirito doesn't think they even need any help.

Due to Eugeo’s courteous nature, it doesn’t take long for him to befriend the rest of the group, and Kirito notes that he gets along especially well with Asuna’s best friend, Yuuki. Despite this, he’s a bit more reserved than Alice, who is nothing short of a whirlwind, her charismatic personality charming them all easily. Kirito doesn’t doubt that they’ll both fit right in, and feels a surge of pride.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were moving here!? That would’ve saved so much embarrassment I had in that classroom…” Kirito whines at Eugeo, though a part of him is just teasing. He knows Eugeo would never have had the chance to give Kirito a heads up, but he can’t help but want to talk about anything and everything with him again. Sitting around them are some of his other friends including Klein, Asuna, and his sister Sugu. He finds himself pretty hyper-fixated onto Eugeo and Alice though, trying to make up for lost time.

Clearly, Eugeo doesn’t get Kirito’s joke, as he stops his ongoing conversation with Yuuki. He blinks confusedly. “How was _I_ supposed to know you were here? It’s been years since we all last saw each other in person.”

“I didn’t even know you had other friends back then Kirito. Why didn’t you tell us about them,” Klein teases. Kirito neglects to mention that the only reason he never brought them up was because he missed them too much.

Eugeo recovers quickly from his early confusion to grin at Kirito. “What? You never mentioned us at _all?_ ” He scoffs afterward. “Were you too good for us?”

From his side, Alice lowers her voice a bit in a pretend whisper. “He probably never talked about us because he didn’t want to think about the stupid things he did back then anymore.”

“Ooooh do tell!” Yuuki cheers. “We never get to hear about this stuff! He was so moody and broody when he first moved here.” Asuna pats her on the back as Yuuki childishly crosses her arms.

Kirito fights the urge to pout. “I was _not_ moody, and I wasn’t broody either!” he retorts. “And besides, I never did anything stupid back then. You guys are probably just making that stuff up.”

“I don’t know…” Eugeo says, trailing his voice off while feigning innocence. “There _was_ this one time when we were younger…”

“Oh! Wasn’t he like, really into flowers back then? He’d always want to go to the botanical garden in our school.” Alice perks up and claps her hands.

“Yea, he was,” Sugu confirms. “God, it was so annoying. Mom never knew what to do with him.”

Kirito can faintly remember those times. Since Rulid was located in a rural area, there was a lot of nature and greenery. Back then, the school had its own garden at the back, and students were tasked to take care of the plants that grew back there. For some reason, he had really enjoyed tending to those flowers, but he also had fond memories of him working with Eugeo and Alice back there. But this teasing…

“Yea, so what?” Kirito frowns. “I liked them. What about the flowers?”

“Well...” Eugeo hums, tilting his head to the side. “There was this pond right? And there were always these cute little frogs that would hop around on these giant lily pads. I think Alice was really enamored with those frogs. She wanted to take one home as a pet.”

“Oh yea, I did, didn’t I. I think I was— Wait, is this what I think this is about?” Alice asks, but then smirks. She tries to hide it behind a giggle, masking herself off with her golden hair, but she fails miserably. Kirito tries to remember what she’s picked up on, but he can’t recall anything.

“Mhmm,” Eugeo continues. “So Kirito, for some reason, really _really_ wanted to impress Alice. And one day, he told me he was gonna catch one as a gift for Alice. So he’s standing on this ledge eyeing this tiny frog down, and for some reason is very interested in a nearby lilypad,” Eugeo grins at Kirito. And suddenly—

“Oh no, nononono you’re _not_ gonna say it Eugeo, please,” Kirito begs. He suddenly remembers that embarrassing moment that he had locked away into the back of his brain. That stupid time where he was under the impression that he could’ve—

“And then this small 8-year old kid just jumps _onto_ the lily— Argh!”

In a desperate attempt to get Eugeo to shut up, he tackles him, and suddenly they’re rolling on the ground. Kirito muffles his hand onto Eugeo’s mouth and Eugeo scrambles to get back up. Faintly, Kirito can hear the loud laughter and cheers from his friends, and for a moment, he feels like he’s eight again and everything is perfect. Eventually after scuffling about, he manages to straddle Eugeo, looming over him by pressing his hands on his shoulders.

“Hah!” Kirito crows, ready to preen over his victory. But then he gets a good look at Eugeo, who’s still giggling in that soft voice of his. His cheeks are smudged with dirt and are flushed into a faint light pink color. His flaxen hair is messy, and pieces of grass are stuck in their curls. His arms are splayed out, relaxed and content and he’s huffing, sweat piling at the edge of his forehead from their wrestle.

And then he opens his sea-green eyes and his lips spread into a gentle smile and Kirito’s heart thumps.

Oh. Oh no.

 

(From the side, he doesn’t see Asuna smirk knowingly.)

 

* * *

 

Months pass, and October turns into November, and November turns into December, and that _goddamn_ thumping hasn’t stopped.

Everytime Eugeo smiles, or flushes, or whenever his hair would get in the way of his eyes and he’d attempt to blow it away from his forehead and then he’d let out a sheepish laugh, Kirito would always have to resist the urge to do something, _anything_ , to stop the pounding in his chest.

At first, Kirito’s confused. Because he’s never felt like this before. He’s never cared about romance, and has never considered it that much before. But for some reason, the one time it _did_ matter, it was because of his _childhood friend._  

And it wasn’t Alice, but out of all people, Eugeo.

Which leads Kirito to the current predicament he is at right now.

He’s on the phone with Asuna, who’s out doing Christmas shopping in preparation for the party at Klein’s place a week later. At first, he’s helping her choose which gift to give to her Secret Santa (it’s Sugu), since according to her, he’s apparently better at coming up with presents than she (to which, he doesn’t believe). Eventually, their conversation turns into Kirito’s um… _infatuation_ with Eugeo, and all of a sudden, he can’t shut up.

“It’s so dumb!” he complains into the Facetime. He then remembers Sugu is also in the house somewhere and doesn’t want her to overhear, so he lowers his voice. “What am I even supposed to do with this? It’s like everytime he does something, I can’t help but pay attention to him.”

“I dunno,” Asuna responds. She swiftly ducks past a family that passes her by, before turning back to her phone. “You _do_ stare at him a lot. I’m surprised he hasn’t noticed,” she laughs at the end. 

“Ughhh.” Kirito collapses onto his bed, thinking that this is it. This is how he’s going to spend the remainder of his high school years, pining over his best friend that he had _just_ reunited with and can’t get out of his mind. _God_ it’s so dumb.

For a brief moment, he contemplates how much easier it would be if he had fallen for Asuna instead. She’s pretty. Smart. And incredibly loyal. Perhaps in another world, they would’ve gotten together as a couple and gotten married. Maybe even have a single daughter and live in a nice house that also had a white-picket fence.

But this isn’t the world either of them live in. And then he remembers how pretty, smart, and loyal Eugeo is too.

“Ughhhhh,” Kirito repeats again, his groan much louder than it was before.

Asuna giggles once again, obviously taking pleasure in his existential crisis. “Maybe you should do something about it,” she suggests. “Christmas is coming up. This is a perfect opportunity!" 

“Yea,” Kirito sarcastically mutters. “Like _Christmas_ is gonna help me out any better. It’s practically one of the most romantic holidays here in Japan.” 

“Which means it’s the perfect opportunity to confess!” she finishes. “I’m almost 99% certain he feels the same way.”

“Yea, no,” Kirito ends. “I’m not taking risks and jeopardizing our friendship. I _just_ got him back.” He stops. “As well as Alice,” he adds in the end. Asuna pretends not to notice. He knows she’s definitely going to hang that over his head soon.

“I passed by a flower shop earlier by the way,” she then drawls, feigning innocence that’s eerily similar to how Eugeo does it. “I checked it out earlier, and you wanna know what I found in there?”

“Pray tell Asuna, what did you find.”

“You better thank me. I’m doing you a very big favor telling you this.”

“Asuna, please, just get to the point.”

She flits her eyes back and forwards, as if she’s worried that someone is going to overhear her. She waits for a dramatic pause, and then grins at the end. “I found… mistletoe.”

Kirito stops again.

* * *

 

This is officially, the dumbest thing Kirito has ever done.

At the moment Asuna tells him about the mistletoe, the last thing he remembers is grabbing a backpack with some cash, and rushing off to meet up with her at the mall. It was the perfect idea! If he and Eugeo get caught under the mistletoe and Kirito gets the feeling that Eugeo doesn’t return his feelings, he can simply just play it off for fun! And so, together they go in and buy a bundle of mistletoe and march out of the flower shop, trying to develop Kirito’s “master plan.”

Kirito can say that by the time the party starts, he doesn’t even _have_ a master plan.

He thinks Alice has caught wind of his debacle as well, as she at one point, arrives early at Klein’s place and catches him placing a mistletoe on the wall. Unlike Klein, who Kirito simply tells him the mistletoe is for fun, Alice knows _exactly_ what Kirito is doing.

Kirito tries not to let it get to him. Who knows, maybe Alice will help him as well.

She doesn’t.

The moment Eugeo enters the room, with a rather large present and a pile of boxed food in his arms (Kirito briefly wonders who Eugeo’s Secret Santa is and hopes its his), he is immediately under the mistletoe, and Alice _definitely_ notices. As Eugeo is juggling with his food (really, why did he not bring a bag or something?), Kirito approaches him to help him out.

“Here, I got you,” Kirito says, trying his best to be suave. He sincerely hopes he does sound suave as he takes some of Eugeo’s stuff.

“Thanks Kirito,” Eugeo then smiles, and Kirito tries his hardest to not stare for too long and looks away. He can see the mistletoe right above their heads, and waits to Alice to say something, _anything_ , and give a cue. Because as much as Kirito loaths to admit it, he’s too embarrassed to say so himself.

However, Alice doesn’t say anything. Instead she smirks at him and then goes, “Wow! Tieze! Eugeo! You guys are under the mistletoe!”

Just like Alice mentions, right behind Eugeo is Tieze, an underclassman of theirs. She’s a cute red-headed girl who Kirito knows has a pretty obvious crush on Eugeo as well, and her face turns into the color of her hair just from Alice’s words. Meanwhile, Eugeo seems confused, but then he looks up and his eyes widen. His cheeks then turn into a rosy pink.

“You guys know what that means,” Alice sings, looking at Kirito dead in the eye.

Kirito fights the urge to scream.

* * *

 

Alright, so the first attempt does not go well, and Kirito has the unpleasant opportunity of witnessing both Eugeo and Tieze fumble under the mistletoe. It ends with Tieze nervously confessing her feelings for Eugeo, and although Eugeo gently rejects her, he does press a quick kiss onto her cheek. With that, she flushes beet red once more (much to Kirito’s dismay), and then Eugeo just saunters off, taking the pile of food boxes from Kirito’s arms in the process.

From the side, Asuna stares incredulously at Kirito. _What happened?_ She seems to be saying with her eyes.

 _I don’t even know_ , Kirito signals back before scurrying off after Eugeo.

This time, he’s in the kitchen with Eugeo, who has just now set the food boxes onto an empty contour. “Hey, help me out with these,” he says as he grabs a few plates from the cupboard.

“I— just—” Kirito finds himself stuttering, before clearing his throat. “You’re… _not_ embarrassed by that?” He stands by next to him and takes a plate as well. Their hands brush.

Eugeo blushes, from the kiss or the hands, Kirito doesn’t know. “Well, of course I’m embarrassed,” he wipes at his cheek, almost like he’s trying to push down its redness. “But what’s done is done y’know? I’ve never been confessed to before though, so it’s surprising I guess,” he comments in the end.

Kirito blinks. “ _You_ ? You’ve _never_ been confessed to before?” He finds it hard to believe that someone this amazing had never received a single confession in his life. And the fact that he had so smoothly kissed Tieze’s cheek earlier had Kirito assume that Eugeo has had at least _some_ experience already.

“I just didn’t want to be rude or embarrass her either, y’know?” Eugeo awkwardly mumbles. He opens up a piece of tupperware and plops down a pile of macaroni salad into a nearby bowl. 

“I mean, I get that, but like,” Kirito tries to find the words he wants to say, but he can’t exactly figure it out. He takes the bowl of macaroni salad and pushes it to the side. “I just find that hard to believe.”

“What’s it to you? It’s not like I’m anything that special,” Eugeo laughs, but Kirito frowns at his words. It sounds self-deprecating. Kirito notes that his hand is right there, and he longs to grab it.

“Well um…” Kirito starts. “I’m sure many people think otherwise.”

“If you say so…”

There’s a bit of an awkward silence, and Eugeo continues to pour food into the separate plates. His brow is furrowed, almost as if he’s burying himself into his thoughts. Without even thinking, Kirito places a hand onto his wrist.

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I do think you’re really special,” Kirito finds himself saying without a second thought. “Anyone would be lucky to be with you, friend or otherwise.”

Eugeo stares at him and blinks once. Then twice. Before that smile that makes Kirito’s knees weak graces his lips. “Thanks,” he says, and it’s only one word, but Kirito can already feel his heart fluttering like usual. 

His hand still stays on Eugeo’s wrist. Eugeo doesn’t seem to be moving any time soon, and instead continues to smile at Kirito. Maybe this is it. Maybe, if Kirito is able to keep up this mood for just a minute or two longer, perhaps he’ll be able to say the words he’s been dying to say for the past few months. It’s the perfect atmosphere, and Kirito can only faintly hear the others from outside the kitchen, so he _knows_ they’re alone. Maybe, if Kirito had a mistletoe—

From behind Eugeo, he sees Asuna. And she’s holding a mistletoe.

She notices the mood right away, and starts gesticulating wildly at the plant she’s holding. Kirito tries not to give away her location to Eugeo (but at the same time, it’s hard to look away from him). And so, she quietly grabs a chair and stands on it, trying to find a discrete way to hang up the mistletoe without Eugeo noticing.

 _This is it_ , Kirito thinks. All he has to do is wait for Asuna to finish taping the mistletoe on the wall, and get him and Eugeo under it when they leave to give out the food. And then Kirito can casually comment on the mistletoe underneath their heads and Eugeo will send him a grin and—

“W-wahh!” Asuna’s screech interrupts his thoughts. And she promptly thumps onto the ground. 

Eugeo jumps at Asuna’s scream and whips around. “A-asuna!?” He rushes toward her, where she’s laid on the ground. “Oh my god, are you okay? Did you hurt your back!?”

She groans and cracks her back, some pieces of her hair catching under her arms. Kirito rushes over to help her up as well. “U-um, I’m fine!” she quickly recovers. “I-I ended up slipping, my bad!”

Eugeo frowns. “I don’t know, that sounded like it hurt.” He eyes at the chair that’s thrown on the ground next to Asuna. “Weird, that chair wasn’t here before. Did you trip over that?”

“Yea… I guess I did haha… I’ll be okay, let me just...” Asuna tries to play off. She’s looking at the door and back, trying to find an escape route to give Kirito some alone time with Eugeo.

Unfortunately, her attempt doesn’t work. “No, don’t. You should get that checked on,” he protests. “I’ll go find someone, just hold on for a moment!”

And so in a flash, Eugeo leaves, and he doesn’t even notice the mistletoe tossed onto the ground next to the chair.

Once he’s gone, Asuna shares an apologetic glance with Kirito. His second attempt is a failure.

* * *

 

This time. This time, for sure.

They’re exchanging Christmas presents two hours later, and Kirito is determined to catch Eugeo. Without much effort, he sees Eugeo at the corner of the room, looking around for someone, probably for his Secret Santa.

Much to Kirito’s luck, he actually drew Eugeo for his own Secret Santa, so it isn’t suspicious at all to approach him during this.

What _is_ suspicious however, is the mistletoe that was dug deep in Kirito’s front pocket. It’s like it’s burning pass the seams of his pants and into his skin. That’s how aware he is of it in his pocket. 

He’s convinced that the only other way to get this through to Eugeo, with no problems arising, is just to be direct himself. He’s _going_ to get this message through to Eugeo, whether he wants to or not. And nothing could be more obvious that shoving a mistletoe over their heads after exchanging a present.

“Oh, Kirito!” Eugeo pushes a hand through his curls. He looks pleasantly surprised. “You got me as your Secret Santa?”

“Heh, yea, I did,” Kirito responds, handing over the wrapped present to Eugeo. While Kirito’s nervous, he’s also excited for Eugeo to see what’s inside. He gives him a wink. “Come on, open it! I spent a lot of time looking for a good present for you.”

“Wait, right now?”

“It shouldn’t take long, come on!”

And as Eugeo bends down to open up the present after putting down his own Secret Santa gift (Kirito still hopes it’s his), and begins to unwrap it. Inside is a scrapbook that Kirito is pretty proud of, full of photos and anecdotes from their childhood and some from the recent months in Aincrad Academy as well.

Eugeo’s eyes widen as he studies the book, slowly flipping through each page. “How…?” he breathes in disbelief. “How did you get some of these photos? These were from years ago, _I_ don’t even remember half of these events. 

Kirito smirks. “Don’t tell me you forgot about my mom. Everywhere we went, she’d be following taking photos on her camera or her phone. I dug through some of our photo books at home and got some copies.” He then points at a more recent picture. “And besides, there’s some from recently too. There’s some empty pages in the back if you wanna fill them up yourself in the future as well.”

There is many moments that Kirito thinks back fondly from those days in Rulid. From them exploring the forest, or having picnics, or walking home from school all together. Judging from Eugeo’s face, he treasures those moments too, and Kirito feels nostalgic. 

Eugeo is speechless. “I…” his voice trails off until he softly clears his voice again. “ _Thank you_. Really.” He steps in closer and give Kirito a hug, and when he lets go, he looks back down at the scrapbook. He continues to sort through the photos, his finger tracing through the pages.

At that split second, Kirito thinks it’s time.

And so he cautiously digs his fingers into his front pockets, feeling the prickly stems of the mistletoe scraping against his skin. He starts to get excited. If he could just swiftly get this out and catch Eugeo’s attention, maybe he can finally get out his own confession. There’s no chances for interruptions, or scheming friends as they’re too focused on exchanging their own presents, so—

In his eagerness, he drops the mistletoe.

It lands in front of Eugeo’s feet. And Eugeo definitely notices.

Kirito’s fucked.

“Huh? What’s this?” Eugeo asks. He closes the scrapbook and bends down to pick it up and studies it. “Weird… I wonder where this came from.” He then looks up, almost as if he’s expecting another mistletoe to be above their heads. 

 _Where it came from?!_ Kirito wants to scream. _Gee, I wonder from where!?_

Eugeo _has_ to be playing. He _has_ to have known where this came from. Kirito’s the only one within close proximity from him.

Kirito clears his throat.

“Actually um, Eugeo there’s something else I wanted to give you. Or, I mean—” he stumbles and clears his throat again. “There’s something I want to say.”

Eugeo moves in closer. His voice is low. “Yea?”

“Well, we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Yes, we have.”

“And I usually would never keep any secrets from you.”

“Mhm?”

“But I’ve been keeping this in for a while because I didn’t want you to think any differently of me.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you Kirito, no matter what.”

Kirito takes a deep breath, forcing down his nervousness. “Eugeo, I—”

Someone screams his name. “Kirito!”

It’s Klein. Who’s carrying a wrapped present of his own and rushing towards Kirito.

Out of _all_ the times—

“I finally found ya man!” Klein yells enthusiastically. “Here. My Secret Santa gift for you. I took a while to pick this out so you better like it!”

“I— just hold on for a moment, Eugeo—” Kirito doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as Eugeo interrupts him.

“Oh no, it’s fine!” Eugeo smiles though it seems a bit strained. “I have to look for Yuuki anyways to give her present. It’s kinda hard to lug around a giant teddy bear, so I should give this to her soon before this is over. I’ll talk to you later!”

And just like that, Eugeo’s gone once more.

“Geez, Eugeo was in a rush. Something happen between you two?” Klein wonders as he shifts the present in his arms. His eyes flit down and then he sees the mistletoe on the floor. “Wait… did you two…” He smirks. “Did something happen between you two under the mistletoe? I _knew_ something good was gonna happen tonight!"

Klein could not have been anymore wrong.

* * *

 

Kirito doesn’t know how to feel.

Three tries. Three failures. The party is almost over and he’s conceded defeat.

He’s standing outside at the porch lawn in front of the house, leaning against the railing. Some snow falls from the sky, covering the outside world into a white abyss. Street lamps flicker from the side, adding small splashes of color and he notes that one of them is off.

It’s strange really. Kirito had been convinced that this whole mistletoe business was the perfect plan, something that would’ve been vague but also would’ve gotten the point across. But instead, its ended up like this.

He sighs out loud, his breath hot against the cold air around him. Then he hears a voice. “Asuna said you’d be out here.”

It’s Eugeo once again. Who’s now leaning against the railing with him. Kirito can feel Eugeo’s warmth and wants to huddle in closer, but stops himself in time. It’s a bit too soon.

“Thanks for having you and your friends invite us over, really,” Eugeo makes out. He’s obviously insinuating about him and Alice. Kirito blinks. Eugeo has been thanking him a lot today.

“It’s only natural. You’re our friends. Why wouldn’t we invite you both?”

Eugeo sighs. “It’s been a while since I last celebrated Christmas like this, and even then for the most part, it would just be me and Alice back in Rulid.”

Kirito can’t imagine Eugeo _not_ being surrounded by a much of friends. “There was Alice’s family right?”

“Yea, but you know her family’s kinda traditional. Wouldn’t want some boy to interrupt or anything,” Eugeo replies.

Kirito can only imagine.

“Sometimes in the morning or afternoon, Alice and I would exchange presents or cards on our own before we went home. And you already know what my parents and brothers are like.” He wrinkles his nose.

Kirito remembers. He never liked them much when he was younger.

Eugeo continues. “So when we both moved here, I was actually really nervous. Rulid’s so small, and over here, it’s so much bigger. I didn’t know how I would’ve been able to handle it." 

“But then you were there. A childhood friend I hadn’t seen in years, and you weren’t obligated to talk to me. You probably barely even remembered me. But you _still_ talked to me and invited us over into your friend group when you didn’t have to.”

“I don’t know if Alice has ever told you this, but even if she never really says it, she’s really grateful of you too. And I am as well. So... thank you.”

Eugeo turns his body to completely face Kirito. There’s snow falling behind him, some having blown into his flaxen hair and it damps up. A white scarf is thrown around his neck, and his bangs fall into his eyes.

Kirito feels his heart swell.  

“There’s also um… something _I_ need to say,” Eugeo then stutters.

He reaches out to hold Kirito’s hands. His hands are warm. “I, um—” Eugeo stumbles, and his grip on Kirito’s hands tighten, as if he’s trying to comfort himself. “God, this is much harder than I expected it to be, um…” He looks side to side, then up, avoiding eye contact with Kirito. Then he freezes.

Kirito looks up. And there’s a mistletoe.

It finally clicks.

Kirito has seen Eugeo make a lot of faces. He’s seen him when he’s happy, when he’s sad, or embarrassed or angry. But when he looks back down at Eugeo, he’s never seen his face in that shade of red before. Pink, he has seen, but definitely not red.

Kirito can only roll his eyes and smile. Eugeo has an iron grip on Kirito’s hands and he promptly stiffens up. 

“I— Sorry, I don’t, the mistl—”

Kirito cuts him off with a kiss. And from shock, Eugeo lets go of his hands.

From there, he takes the chance to wrap his arms around his waist, pressing his body closer to his. It takes Eugeo a while to recover or even compute what’s going on at the moment, before Kirito feels him finally relax and reciprocate. He feels his hands move to his cheeks, and then to his hair, and then to his neck and shoulders, and Kirito shudders.

He can feel Eugeo nipping at his lips and Kirito only pulls him closer. He’d been waiting so long for this moment, he is going to make this last.

Once a few minutes have passed, Kirito lets go, and their lips part. He presses his forehead against Eugeo’s, and when Eugeo keeps his eyes closed, Kirito studies his form. He can feel his warm breath as his arms tighten around him, as if he’s about to pull him in for another kiss, and his cheeks are back to a light pink color.

When Eugeo’s eyes open, his cheeks start to redden again.

Kirito laughs. “You’re so red,” he teases. “And you couldn’t have waited until New Years to confess, couldn’t you?”

“Shut up, you’re the one who kissed _me_ , not the other way around,” Eugeo pouts. He brushes his nose against Kirito’s. “Besides, you’re pretty red as well.” 

Kirito pulls him into another kiss.

He’ll have to thank Asuna later.


	2. Whereas Eugeo is simply just a mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wtf I have midterms and papers due this week that I should be working on, why did I write this, i need a life lmao

* * *

  

It’s a usual summer day when Kirito announces he’s going to move away.

They’re all eleven years old, bright-eyed naive children who would never suspect otherwise. The sun’s out, there’s birds chirping in the trees, and they’re all playing by the river on the forest floor. That is, until Kirito stops them both with his earth-shattering news.

“What?” Alice echos Eugeo’s thoughts as she freezes on her spot in the shallow waters. Her blue eyes are wide, almost betrayed, and Eugeo can only imagine what’s going on in her mind right now. He’s on the same boat as well.

“My mom got a job offer in the city,” Kirito mutters. He’s stopped swinging his legs from his spot on the rock and is staring down. “Apparently it’s a lot. We’re moving in two weeks.”

“Two… weeks?” Eugeo hears Alice whisper. She pauses for a bit before shaking her head, and splashes back over to the bank. “How long have you known!?” She sounds offended. Her hands are on her hips.

“About a month now,” Kirito quietly responds. He avoids her gaze.

There’s a silence between the three, as if they’re all taking in this sudden information. It feels off to Eugeo, as there’s never been an awkward moment around them before, but here they are. He shifts between his feet, and starts looking over at the water’s edge until he hears a sniffle.

It’s Alice.

She’s clenching the hem of her dress tightly into her fists. Her blonde hair covers her face, but he sees her lips wobble and she takes in a loud sniff. She’s obviously trying to fight back the tears that are gathering at her eyes.

“I—” she breaks. “Y-you can’t! That’s stupid, you can’t move. We won’t let you! We’re supposed to all stay together!” she childishly proclaims. For a moment, Eugeo thinks she’s going to stomp her foot on the ground too, and as quick as Alice is about to cry, Kirito jumps out from his rock and gathers her into his arms, doing his best to comfort her. She wails.

Eugeo can feel himself feeling similarly. What sort of life was there if Kirito wasn’t there along with him and Alice? They’re his best friends, and he knows he’s much closer to them than his own family. If it wasn’t for them, if Kirito is really going to leave them…

The thought is unimaginable.

Hearing Alice cry isn’t making the situation any better, and Eugeo can see Kirito’s eyes getting misty. He tightens his grip on Alice. Eugeo can feel his own eyes getting teary as well but…

“We’ll still be friends,” Eugeo finds himself saying.

Alice moves out of Kirito’s arms and wipes at her eyes. “H-huh?”

“We’ll keep in contact,” Eugeo continues. “We’ll even write letters! It’s just— You can’t—” he forces himself to take a deep breathe to stabilize his voice once again. “We’re not gonna let you leave us.”

Kirito blinks at Eugeo’s words, and then wipes at his eyes too. The other boy forces out a grin, making his way over to Eugeo. He wraps an arm around Eugeo’s shoulders and playfully ruffles his hair. “Of course! You’re stuck with me after all!”

Eugeo scrambles out of Kirito’s grip. “Stop that!”

Alice lets out a soft giggle, quiet at first until it gains volume, and they’re back to normal again.

It’s right after that that they spend every waking moment together until Kirito has to leave. Promises are exchanged, and they give Kirito both of their addresses and phone numbers. None of them have their own phones yet (and it’s not like Eugeo’s parents can afford him one anyways), so they swear to send letters, with stickers and bright markers and all.

And so when Kirito leaves, instead of feeling sad, Eugeo feels hopeful. Of course it’s bittersweet, but he knows Kirito treasures his friendship with them as much as they treasure his. And when the car drives off, right next to Eugeo’s side is Alice who’s hand is still raised from her goodbye, even though it’s now long gone. Despite this, Eugeo doesn’t doubt they’ll all meet again someday.

After a year though, Kirito stops responding to their letters. Eugeo tries not to let it bother him for too long.

But who is he kidding? Of course it does.

* * *

 

The reunion is abrupt and sudden. It all starts in a single classroom.

They’re seventeen years old, and Eugeo tries not to feel anxious without Alice by his side. The city is big and vast. He barely knows how to work the train system and the amount of people over here is completely different from Rulid. It’s a culture shock for sure.

He’s glad to have Alice experiencing this with him though, as he can tell that despite her confidence, she’s a bit anxious too.

But right now, she’s left for her class, and the teacher is leading him to his _own_ classroom.

“Make sure to make your introduction quick alright?” his new teacher curtly says in a no-nonsense tone. She doesn’t turn back to look at him. “We have a big lesson today and we can’t waste any time in class.”

“O-oh um, of course,” Eugeo gulps, trying his best not to trip on his feet. Some students passing them by in the hall look at him in curiosity. He tries not to bump into one of them.

When the teacher stops in front of a classroom door, she sighs, but then finally turns to face him. Her stern features soften, probably from seeing how nervous he looks. “You’ll be fine,” she comforts. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

He nods once again. And then she walks on in.

Eugeo awkwardly stands outside, waiting for the signal. He hears a girl telling everyone to stand up, probably the student rep or something, and then the teacher speaks. He waits for her to nod at him through the door before he takes a deep breath and steps inside.

The classroom is not too small, but not to large either. There’s a bunch of expectant faces staring into him though, and he really _really_ wishes he could sink into the floor and just be invisible for once, but of course, he can’t.

It doesn’t help when he nearly stumbles onto the floor from nothing but air. It earns him a few giggles. Eugeo forces back a groan.

He notes that there’s a guy with his head down though that’s wholefully uninterested in Eugeo’s presence and is taking a short nap instead. At least he didn’t see Eugeo’s blunder, but it also makes him feel a bit self-conscious. Maybe he’s really _that_ boring?

 _It doesn’t really matter though_ , Eugeo thinks in the end when the teacher tells him to introduce himself. He pauses for a bit to emotionally prepare himself before he begins.

“Uh…” he starts. His brain is running a million miles per hour. What was he supposed to say? His hobbies? Interests? His year? No, everyone here is the same year as him, that would be useless information. Maybe something simple?

“Hi… I’m Eugeo. N-nice to meet you!”

His voice cracks mid-sentence. God damnit.

However, before Eugeo can mentally judge his own screw up, the guy with his head down abruptly stands up. He doesn’t look too different from everyone else to be honest, with black hair and dark eyes, but he certainly calls a lot of attention with his sudden movement. The chair he was sitting on screeches as it moves and it falls back with a loud thud. The guy’s notebook falls off his desk and his hair is disheveled, but there’s something off with him.

“Eugeo!?” the guy practically screams. Everyone stares at him.

There’s an awkward silence.

“That’s um… that’s my name, yeah.” Eugeo tries not to wince. Now he _really_ wants to sink into the floor. Was his name _that_ funny? “Is there something wrong with my name?”

“You— Eugeo, no you can’t— is that—” the other boy stutters, his mouth flapping wide open.

The rest of the students start murmuring amongst themselves. The brunette girl next to him has her face buried in her palm, as if she is trying not to sigh. The boy is still stuttering through his words, this time pointing at Eugeo while he’s at it.

The teacher finally speaks up. “ _Sit down_ . Now is _not_ the time.” She slams a notebook back down onto her desk. Everyone in the class jumps, including Eugeo himself.

“If you’re so enthusiastic to greet our new student, you and Asuna can show him around soon. I hope that would suffice, Kirito?”

“Y-yes, sensei.” The boy sits back down with a sheepish look on his face.

But he still doesn’t stop staring at Eugeo.

What was this guy’s problem? Was there something on Eugeo’s face? Was it his hair? Eugeo doesn't want to think that he’s offended someone _already_ , and hopes the boy doesn’t blame him from his embarrassment. Judging from what the teacher just said, he’d have to meet up with him later too. Hopefully this Kirito guy isn’t the type of person that—

Then all of a sudden, Eugeo is eleven again, with Alice and a faceless boy by his side, back at the same river in the same forest with the same promises and—

Oh god.

He looks at the boy again.

It really _is_ Kirito.

* * *

 

 It’s on the way back home from school that Alice starts to tease Eugeo.

“Sooooo,” she obnoxiously starts, tilting her head to the side with a smug grin on her lips. Eugeo groans.

“No Alice, we’re _not_ talking about this now.” He quickens up his pace but she easily catches up with an extra skip on her step.

“Yes we are, I’m just erm… _curious_ , y’know? You seemed pretty stricken when he pinned you to the ground,” she snickers. “Getting hot and heavy already, why don’t you. At least let him take you out first like a proper gentleman.”

Eugeo chokes. “What the— Alice!?” _Did she really have to word that in such a manner?_

She laughs at his pain and spins back around to walk in front of him, her steps seeming more lively than before. Some friend she is. He sighs when he manages to fall into step with her.

To see her making fun of him like this is irksome. It’s not like he’s ever seen Kirito in that light, especially since their relationship right now is so new. Eugeo just doesn’t want to rush it, is all.

He isn’t going to mention how his heart had beaten when Kirito had wrestled around with him. Eugeo digresses.

“Like that’s even possible,” he finds himself saying instead. He remembers those old childhood days in Rulid and all those times when Kirito would drag Eugeo around to find things to give to Alice. Whether it be frogs, or flowers, or whatever. Must’ve been some sort of courtship attempt or something. Briefly, he remembers his own minor crush on Alice back then as well, and almost laughs at the irony. “Besides, didn’t he use to have a crush on _you_?”

“I mean, _maybe_ he did, sure. But _you_ were the one he always spent the most time around. Partners in crime and everything, always getting into trouble,” she teases.

“Oh _please_ , if anything it was _me_ who kept you both in line,” Eugeo argues with a roll of his eyes.

“Yea, yea, keep telling yourself that,” she says with a mocking pat on his head, nevermind the fact that Eugeo is taller than her. She grins. “I still think of you both as the same stupid kids that I grew up with, so you’re just gonna have to live with that.”

“Ugh, whatever…”

They continue walking in silence for a while until she breaks it once again. “Besides, if he _does_ end up liking you in that way, you deserve it. Being in a relationship and all that after what you’ve been through,” she says, and though her tone is teasing, he can tell she’s genuine. He knows he’s talked to her about his longing for validation and approval, and briefly remembers the lonely holidays he’d be forced to spend alone if Alice isn’t around.

His family has worked him to the bone as of this point. But he still wants to make them proud, despite their aversion to him. It’s strange really.

“Maybe this new school is a good place to be around,” Alice finishes. She grasps at his hand, probably in an attempt to anchor him, or maybe even herself. “I’m glad I convinced my family to bring you along. I wouldn’t have wanted to leave you alone back there.”

He smiles, not knowing where he went to deserve such a great friend. “Thanks Alice.”

“And Kirito is the only one that I’ll ever give my stamp of approval to!” she announces as she lets go, grasping onto her bag tighter. She turns around, and then her lips quirk up a notch. “But just don’t do anything erm… _dirty_ when I’m around ok?”

Nevermind, he takes it all back. Alice can die in a hole for all he cares.

* * *

  

He meets other people too, besides Kirito’s group of friends.

There’s a burly upperclassman that takes him under his wing, once he apparently finds out that Eugeo is a “country bumpkin” just like himself. His name is Gorgolosso, certainly a mouthful itself, and Eugeo definitely trips up the pronunciation a _lot_ in the beginning.

Eugeo isn’t going to lie, he was _very_ intimidated by him at first, and gets flashbacks of kids being shoved into lockers in high school films, and wonders if _he’s_ going to be a victim of that at first when they meet in the gym during clean up time (seriously, what _was_ an upperclassman doing there anyways?). But the older boy just treats him with a giant teddy-bear like smile and introduces him around the school.

There’s also another upperclassmen that Gorgolosso is friends with too, who is named Sortiliena. While Eugeo isn’t as close to her as he is with Gorgolosso (something about her is just so… untouchable), he finds her presence to be comforting. It’s a shock when he finds out she’s the student council president of all things, and even more shocking when he finds out that Kirito _also_ is good friends with her and teases her without a care in the world (how many people does Kirito know again?).

Lastly, there’s two underclassmen that he meets, two girls named Ronye and Tieze. Ronye is the quieter of the two, but compared with the rambunctiousness of Kirito’s entire group, he finds her to be very sensible and easy to get along with (especially compared to Alice’s mischievous nature). Tieze is also a delight to be around, and is more outgoing than Ronye, but in a positive and optimistic way. The two girls are very close friends with each other, and it’s rare to ever see them apart.

There’s also the weird notion that the red-headed girl might, _just_ might have the tiniest of crushes on Eugeo, especially seeing how red she gets whenever he gets too close to her. But surely that couldn’t be. Eugeo isn’t anything too special and she can do better.

And of course, there’s Kirito himself.

Despite all of Eugeo’s new friends, he finds himself enjoying his time with Kirito the most. It’s almost like he’s never left, with Kirito’s impish smiles and hair ruffles. Throughout the months of October and November, Eugeo finds himself scrambling around to prepare for the upcoming Sports and Cultural festivals, and Kirito seems more often than not, very excited to participate. Even if it means volunteering Eugeo (much to his chagrin) into various events.

“Eugeo and I can help out in the relay!” Kirito had proclaimed with a raised hand when Asuna had asked for volunteers to represent their class. For some reason, no one else had any complaints.

Eugeo had buried his head into his arms and let out a groan.

He had to admit though, that it was pretty fun, spending even more time with Kirito and all of that. Kirito had forced him to go out on jogging sessions afterwards, but Eugeo wouldn’t call those exercises as jogging. If anything, they were more like sprint sessions where he raced against Kirito instead. They both were always rather competitive anyways, and Eugeo isn’t going to take a defeat face down (never mind the fact that Kirito won, but it’s 6-7 now. Eugeo can easily catch up in no time).

He isn’t going to admit though, that he probably enjoys spending time with Kirito _too_ much. It’s probably part of the reason why Eugeo likes him so much—

Wait. Wait what?

Eugeo shakes his head quickly to rid himself of such a thought.

It’s when they’re preparing for the upcoming Cultural Festival after the Sports Fest that Kirito brings up Klein’s Christmas party.

“A Christmas party?” Eugeo questions at Kirito’s casual mention. He stops from his position on the ground as he’s cutting out multiple scraps of hard papers for decorations.

Kirito looks a bit sheepish, though Eugeo isn’t sure why. “Yea. Klein usually hosts one each year and I—  _we_ wanted to invite you guys.”

Eugeo ignores Kirito’s blunder. Must’ve been a slip of the tongue. “How many people are gonna be there?”

“Just our regular group of friends and maybe a few others. It’s gonna be pretty small anyways. You can invite other people to come over as well though.”

Huh, other people? Tieze _has_ mentioned about not having any plans for Christmas. Perhaps he can bring over her and Ronye. Both of those girls do know Kirito and Alice anyways, so it’s not like it’s going to be awkward.

Eugeo gets so lost in his thoughts that he almost doesn’t hear Kirito finishing his sentence. “There’s gonna be a Secret Santa too, so make sure you tell us early who you’re gonna invite. I think Sugu’s handling the slips this year.”

He blinks. “Oh, really?” He finds himself somewhat nervous about the idea of a Secret Santa. It’d be better to get someone like Alice than say, Klein. What if he gets someone he doesn’t know well and accidently gives them a bad present? He still feels like Kirito’s friends are well, Kirito’s friends instead of his own so…

Kirito probably senses Eugeo’s anxiety quickly after though, as he smoothly wraps an arm around Eugeo’s shoulders. “ _Relax_ man, nothing to worry about. In the end, this is all for fun!”

Eugeo tries not to think about how close Kirito’s voice is to his ear. He slowly starts to flush.

Kirito prattles on, completely oblivious to Eugeo’s problem. “During the first Secret Santa, and this was like, a few years ago when we were still in junior high, I was really excited for the Christmas party. Had me and Sugu decked out and everything and I made sure we had the perfect presents. Turns out, I had Liz as my Secret Santa, and you know what she gave me?”

His voice had trailed off into a hushed-pretend whisper at the last part, and Eugeo almost shudders. Almost. Hopefully his voice doesn’t shake.  “W-what did she g-get?”

It didn’t shake at all. Nailed it.

“She got me a bubble wrap costume. Said I could wear it for the next Halloween,” Kirito scoffs. He lets go of Eugeo’s shoulders and crosses his arms. “ _And_ she got an inflatable unicorn horn for my cat. So we could match.”

Now that Kirito isn’t so close anymore, Eugeo finally feels more at ease. But then—

Wait. Something doesn’t add up.

Eugeo raises an eyebrow. “Hold on… but, you don’t have a cat. Don’t you?”

Kirito rolls his eyes. “ _Now_ you see what I’m talking about? Half of my present was basically useless. I ended up giving the unicorn horn to my next door neighbor. It was so awkward…”

Eugeo can only imagine a 13-year old Kirito handing off such a present to a faceless neighbor. Knowing Kirito’s luck, the neighbor probably didn’t have a cat either, but he doesn’t have the heart to point that out to him. “I… I see.”

“Yea, you see. I still ended up wearing the costume for the next Halloween though, but that’s besides the point!”

The costume was probably made out of cheap material anyways. _Does bubble-wrap even count as a costume? Was it just taped together?_ Eugeo ponders. He then smirks to himself as an idea forms in his head.

“So I’m telling ya,” Kirito ends. “It’s not like you have to take this too seriously, so there’s nothing you should worry about—”

“You probably deserved it anyways.”

Kirito stops mid-sentence, his jaw still open. He whirls around at Eugeo. “Excuse me, what?”

Eugeo feigns innocence and pretends not to hear him. Obviously he’s gonna keep teasing Kirito. “ _And_ you’re probably bad at giving out presents. So Lizbeth’s surprise was probably for a just cause.”

Kirito looks dumbfounded and continues to stare at Eugeo. For a moment, Eugeo stumbles. Did he overstep? Was that too much? But then Kirito’s face twists into a mischievous and prankish expression.

“Why you— You’re really asking for it, aren’t ya?” Kirito’s fingers start to waggle and he starts to shuffle closer to Eugeo. This can only mean one thing-

“Wait, nonono, not this again!” Eugeo protests, but he finds himself laughing instead (he also notes there’s a dull ache on his cheeks). His eyes slam shut as he scrambles of from his spot on the ground with his hands, using his legs to kick at Kirito’s body away while he’s at it. Mentally, Eugeo prepares himself, but for some reason—

Nothing happens.

Eugeo opens his eyes, and instead, Kirito is still at the same spot. His hands are down and there’s that dumbfounded look on his face again. Kirito’s eyes are wide open, and his eyebrows are shot up, almost disappearing behind his bangs.

And then, Kirito abruptly coughs and he looks away. The back of Kirito’s neck begins to turn pink.

Eugeo takes a glance at him. “Erm… Kirito?”

No answer, except for another cough.

Eugeo tries again. “Hey, something wrong—”

Suddenly, Asuna kicks open the door. In her arms are several boxes full of props for the Cultural Festival, ranging from uniforms to papers and all sorts of other materials. “Do you two boys mind?” she starts with a loud huff. “You better be finished with cutting up those decorations or else Liena-senpai will—”

She then stops on her tracks, looking at the scene in front of her. Eugeo can’t help but note how awkward it is now. “U-um… Hi, Asuna?”

Asuna looks at Kirito, then back at Eugeo again. “Is Kirito alright? Did you do something to him?”

“W-what? Of course not!” Eugeo splutters. “What would I even be able to do?”

“You’d be surprised,” she vaguely responds. She puts down her boxes on a nearby desk to approach Kirito, and then kicks at his side. “Hey, wake up. We’re not done with you yet.” She looks at the pile of hard papers that’s splayed out beside him. “You’ve barely even done anything. Eugeo’s done more than you,” she ends with a reprimand.

The kick must’ve shook Kirito out of his reverie, as he perks up and shakes his head. The pinkness dies down. “Yea, yea, I’m on it,” he replies as he half-heartedly grabs at a nearby pair of scissors.

“You better be. Just do what you can until 5,” she says. She snickers afterward. “Hopefully Eugeo keeps you in line. Try not to enjoy yourself too much!”

Kirito wheezes. Eugeo isn’t sure why.

Without another word, Asuna marches off and slams the door shut. Kirito, on the other hand, groans out loud, but seems to be embarrassed. Eugeo, after a moment of contemplation, decides to push it to the side.

It probably isn’t anything too important.

* * *

 

 The Christmas party is strange.

If Eugeo thought that Kirito’s behavior was strange during the last month in November, then he should’ve known that it got about ten times worse during December.

They’re still close, him and Kirito, but Eugeo can’t help but feel that there’s some sort of… distance between them now. There’s a sense of awkwardness that Eugeo notes, with Kirito’s now constant stutters and stumbles, which are nothing like the casual nonchalance he had exhibited around Eugeo earlier. And it gets worse as the month of December goes on. Eugeo hopes it isn’t something that he personally did.

For some reason though, when Eugeo questions Alice about this, she tells him not to think too much on it, only telling him to stop worrying. But despite this, of course he still worries.

The Christmas party only adds onto his suspicion.

Sometimes, it’s like nothing has changed, with Kirito lingering close to Eugeo’s presence and comforting him from his insecurities. Like the time in the kitchen right after that embarrassing mishap Eugeo had with Tieze (he still can’t get over how awkward that confession was, and while he had half the mind to lie and appease her, he couldn’t do that to her), or when Kirito had so thoughtfully given him his present (who’d have thought it was _Kirito_ who was his Secret Santa).

But then the other half of the time, it’s like Kirito is outright avoiding him. Because after Eugeo gives his own present to Yuuki and looks for Kirito, he makes eye contact with him to continue their conversation again, only to have Kirito scurry off without another word.

Maybe it _was_ something he did.

Eugeo must’ve been sulking on the couch pretty bad, because Asuna soon sits down next to him. “You look sad,” she starts with a hand on his shoulders.

He jumps but then glances to the side. “I’m not sad, I’m just…”

“Worried? Concerned?” she finishes. She leans back onto the sofa to make herself more comfortable and lets go of his shoulders. “Sorry for interrupting your time with Kirito by the way. It looked urgent back there.”

For a moment, Eugeo can’t help but wonder how she’s not dying from embarrassment after her fall in the kitchen. If he were her, he’d probably never show up his face at this house ever again.

But Asuna isn’t Eugeo, so he instead sighs. “It wasn’t anything that important. Besides, I don’t know what’s up with him myself. Sometimes he’s all over me and then other times it’s like he can’t stand to be around me. It’s…” He tries to find the right word to describe his feelings.

Painful? “Frustrating,” he chooses in the end instead, but it still doesn’t sit right with him. “Maybe I did something to him, I don’t know.”

There’s a slight pause between them, until he hears Asuna huff under her breath. “That stupid idiot…”

“What?”

“Nothing just— it’s nothing personal about you, don’t worry about that,” she says. “Kirito gave you that scrapbook present, remember? He worked really hard on it, so of course that means you’re important to him,” she then reassures, eyeing at the scrapbook on his lap.

To be honest, he had almost forgotten about that. “It _was_ really nice of him…”

“He called me a lot back then too, trying to figure out how to organize it and such and to print out the photos. At one point, he was gonna go all out and get a camera too, but I told him you wouldn’t have wanted him to waste too much money on you.”

Yea, she’s right about that.

“Just…” Asuna pauses, placing a finger to her lips. He can tell she’s deep in her thoughts, trying to find the right words in her mind. “Just give him time. He’s been trying to set up something for you all night, but he hasn’t been able too, besides the present. So I bet he’s embarrassed.”

“He’s setting something up?” Eugeo wonders. What’s that supposed to mean?

“Oh, I bet you’ll figure it out eventually,” she giggles as she rises up from her spot. She dusts off her dress, though he bets she’s still as impeccable as always. “Kirito will be happy to see you though, like he always does.”

Eugeo isn’t so sure about that, but he’ll trust her.

“Also, just to let you know.” Asuna winks at him. “He’s right outside at the porch. You should go talk to him.”

From that last note, she leaves, leaving Eugeo alone with his thoughts.

* * *

  

It takes Eugeo a while to get his bearings together and confront Kirito.

He plans out what he’s going to say. How he’s going to nag the information out of Kirito. How he’s going to ask Kirito what he did to offend him (if there’s anything at all of course). How his behavior has been affecting Eugeo lately (nevermind the pile of insecurities and uncertainties and doubts of “did Eugeo even deserves such a friend or not?”) Or if Kirito really cares about Eugeo at all (because did he? Or did he ever?).

But when he sees Kirito standing outside, back facing him, with the snow fluttering out in the background, Eugeo’s mind blanks out.

There’s a lot of words that Eugeo can use to describe Kirito. He’s mischievous and laid-back to a fault, along with a strong sense of adventure. It’s almost impossible to ever give Kirito a “no” for an answer. Yet, despite these traits, there are also times where Kirito is actually not that good with words and can be rather direct. He’s what Eugeo could sometimes describe as a “dork,” who for reasons that Eugeo can’t fathom, nerds out on computers and is actually quite smart if he puts his mind into it.

But to Eugeo, problems or not, Kirito’s main trait that Eugeo appreciates and treasures the most would be his kindness. Call it vague or boring, but had it not been for that, Eugeo doesn’t think he or Alice would have ever felt so welcomed in Aincrad Academy in the first place. It reminds him why Eugeo likes him so much.

And yes, Eugeo is going to admit it this time. He _does_ like Kirito. Perhaps a bit too much.

Eugeo feels a rush of fondness as he quietly lets out a smile, his previous angst momentarily forgotten. Maybe… just, maybe…

Before he knows it, he’s approached Kirito. “Asuna said you’d be out here.”

Kirito jumps, obviously not expecting Eugeo to be right there next to him, but he greets him with a nod. Some snow falls onto his head, standing out against his dark hair.

Eugeo ignores the urge to brush it off and continues to speak. “Thanks for having you and your friends invite us over, really.”

Kirito looks confused, and raises an eyebrow. “It’s only natural. You’re our friends. Why wouldn’t we invite you both?”

Eugeo supposes it’s understandable to be confused, at least from Kirito’s point of view. So instead Eugeo goes off on a tangent about the Christmases he and Alice would spend together in Rulid instead, insinuating on other times he’d spend it by his lonesome. As he speaks, he studies Kirito’s various expressions, as it morphs from confusion to displeasure to then, surprisingly enough, a soft tenderness.

And when Eugeo thanks him, with that soft look and all, it takes everything Eugeo has to not fidget under such a gaze. He can practically hear his own heart beat.

“There’s also um… something _I_ need to say,” Eugeo then finds himself stuttering. For a moment, he’s panics. Is he really going to confess _now_ out of all times? When he obviously wasn’t coming out here to do that in the first place? Though it’s easy to see that Eugeo has obviously gotten carried away by the mood around them.

He supposes he should just do it to get it over and done with. And Kirito’s still tender gaze still causes his heart to beat. So he continues on and grabs his hands. He hopes Kirito doesn’t feel his own hands trembling. Hopefully it’s not sweating either.

“I, um— God, this is much harder than I expected it to be, um…”

Maybe it isn’t too late to back out. Eugeo can probably just say something about how happy he is to be Kirito’s friend again, but just putting it into different words. Perhaps he can call Kirito his best friend, but Kirito already knows that. God what to say, what to say…

In his own discomfort, Eugeo avoids eye contact. Side to side. Up and down.

Wait… Up?

That can’t be what Eugeo thinks it is.

There’s a mistletoe.

If Eugeo wasn’t panicking before, he’s definitely panicking now.

Gods, his awkward mishap with Tieze was enough, but _Kirito_ too? Did Eugeo do something to anger the gods of this universe? Eugeo was only planning on confessing, _not_ something like this! It isn’t like Eugeo has had a lot of experience either! Eugeo can feel a bright blush creeping its way onto his cheeks. Great, now Kirito’s gonna think Eugeo has planned this mistletoe thing to steal a kiss from him without consent and then their friendship is gonna be ruined and—

Before he knows it, he’s being pulled into a kiss.

And then the rest is history.

* * *

 

It’s on the way back home from the party that Alice starts to tease Eugeo.

But this time, Kirito’s with him.

“Finally!” Alice proclaims. “Literally everyone was wondering how long it would take until one of you _finally_ fessed up! So, which one of you was it.”

For some reason, Eugeo isn’t sure how to answer as he only blinks in response. Next to him, is Kirito, who only squeezes his hand. Kirito’s voice sounds embarrassed. “It was Eugeo…”

“Wait, for real?” Alice snorts. Really unladylike, but she probably doesn’t care. She shakes her head, feigning disappointment. “Kirito, I can’t believe you… And _you_ were the one who planted all those mistletoes around the house. You have any idea how hard it was for me to avoid those?”

Eugeo stops. Kirito. And mistletoe? Did that mean?

“Seriously?” Eugeo gasps. “That was _you_?”

So that time with Tieze, and Asuna’s strange behavior with the chair, and that other mistletoe when Kirito was giving Eugeo his gift? Was this what Asuna had meant earlier?

Kirito awkwardly laughs. “Haha… I was erm… actually planning on confessing to you tonight with those mistletoe, but I pretty much failed every time I tried.” His face then morphs back to his usual impish smile as he pulls at Eugeo’s arm to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. “But hey, it all worked out in the end right? I knew I could count on you!”

Eugeo tries hard not to flush. He fails miserably.

Ahead of them, Alice gags. “Ugh, I _told_ you Eugeo, to not do anything dirty around me. And this is how you thank me?”

“Wha— Alice!?”

Kirito then scoffs at Alice. “Oh please, not like _you_ were much of a help for me back there. You were basically making fun of me when you found me earlier.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Besides, that idea was pretty stupid to begin with, when you could’ve just, I don’t know, just _asked_ Eugeo in the first place.”

“Aww c’mon Alice,” Kirito pouts. “I wasn’t thinking straight. Can you blame me?”

Both Alice and Eugeo stare at Kirito unimpressively. Kirito seems unaware of the accidental pun he must’ve made as he continues to rant on.

“Besides Alice, one day, you’re gonna get a crush of your own. And we’ll see how well you handle it, because I’m telling you, it’s _not_ that easy!”

Alice swiftly recovers, obviously rising up to his competitive remark. “Well, I can guarantee _you_ that I’ll be a lot more level-headed than you were. So you’re gonna regret those words sooner or later!”

“Please, I’d like to see you try!”

And as Kirito and Alice continue to childishly bicker on (would not! Would too!), Eugeo can’t help but roll his eyes. Somehow, despite their loud voices, the background around them is serene with the drifting snow and dark skies and everything in between. It makes him reminiscent of Rulid once again, and soon reminds Eugeo of how thankful he is to have two of his best friends with him, all three of them together once again.

And with Kirito’s hand still grasped in his, Eugeo wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kirito: I couldn't think straight!!!
> 
> Alice and Eugeo: ... literally who???
> 
> (ok but srsly, that ending is so cheesy, kill me lmao)

**Author's Note:**

> Canon doesn't exist, let them be happy thanks


End file.
